Malaria infection is initiated when Anopheles mosquitoes inject Plasmodium sporozoites into the skin. Sporozoites subsequently reach the liver, invading and developing within hepatocytes. Sporozoites contact and traverse many cell types as they migrate from skin to liver; however, the mechanism by which they switch from a migratory mode to an invasive mode is unclear. Here, we show that sporozoites of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei use the sulfation level of host heparan sulfate… CONTINUE READING